Body buried in field identified

Harnett County Sheriff Larry Rollins has released the identity of a man found buried in a Lillington field.

Rollins said the investigation began on July 16 when deputies got a call about a suspicious person in the area of Black Lane who told people in the area that a friend had been shot on Tim Currin Road.

At the time, deputies were unable to find any evidence of a shooting, but Rollins said detectives worked the case over several days and arrested 42-year-old David Eugene Gates of 291 J.M. Wallace Drive, Lillington after they say he admitted to shooting a person and burying the body.

The body was sent to the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office in Chapel Hill for an autopsy and positive identification.